A Step In The Right Direction
by BlackGoblin
Summary: He was all alone now, and Katz planned on taking advantage of that…What he didn’t plan on was…KATZxCOURAGE; FLUFF!


**Ok, I am not sure why I wanted to write this, but I couldn't get the idea out of my head. If you do review please say more than 'This story was good' or 'This story sucked'. Also I will be so happy if you review! Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Courage the Cowardly Dog, this is just for entertainment.

**Warning:** This is a slash! Meaning two males are together…yes in **that **type of way. So if you don't like don't read

**Summery**: He was all alone now, and Katz planned on taking advantage of that…What he didn't plan on was…**KATZxCOURAGE; FLUFF!**

* * *

He was all alone now that the old ones had died. The man went first, due to a heart attack that took him during one of his angry rants, then the fat woman not long after. His informant did not know the exact causes of her death, only that she appeared to have wasted away after the loss of her husband. But the details of their demise did not concern him, what did concern him was what they left behind.

"Hello?" Katz called out as he entered the house, mildly surprised to find the house spotless and warm compared to the chilly night air outside. He had half expected the dog to up and move, or at least let the house fall into disrepair. But no, the house was just the same as when the old ones had lived, there was even newspaper next to the chair that the old man obsessed about.

Though when Katz leaned over the table to look at the paper he found it was a rather old issue.

'Strange…'

The cat jerked at the sound of water rushing though pipes upstairs and silently moved to the stairway. He didn't want the pooch to know he was in the house just yet now that he knew the dog was definitely still residing here. So keeping to the shadows he climbed the stairs and scanned his surroundings for the dog.

When his eyes landed on the pink pup who was coming out of the bathroom Katz became horrified at the sight of his nemesis. A few months ago the dog was healthy if slightly plump, but now his skin hung from his bones giving him the appearance of a skeleton wearing a pink dog suit. Katz was at a loss of words.

Courage seemed to have sensed or smelt the sophisticated cat, but instead of screaming like the norm the dog gave Katz a weary look before heading into a nearby room.

"Courage…?" The cat forced himself out of his stupor, and to the bedroom were the dog had gone. How long had it been since the dog ate? Was the dog eating at all?

The dog in question was lying on the bed Katz assumed the old ones had slept on. Once more again the diabolical cat was thrown off guard by the dog's appearance and lack of response.

"Muriel and Eustace are dead." His voice was hoarse suggesting he had not used it in sometime.

"Yes, I am well aware of that." The dog closed his eyes as if in pain, but besides extreme hunger Katz could see no other cause for his pain.

"What are you still doing here?" Courage opened his eyes and focused them on the Katz dim figure, causing discomfort for the cat who was the master of stares.

"Muriel's recipes are downstairs in the kitchen." The feline was momentarily confused by what the dog was saying before it struck him. Courage thought he had come here for the old woman's recipes. While that may have been one of his original intents things had changed.

"I will be taking them," The cat paused "and you."

Katz smirked at the reaction he got from the pink pooch, that was like the old Courage. His smirk quickly disappeared though when the dog began, growling?

"I'm not leaving!" He growled, causing further alarm for the cat. Since when had the dog developed a backbone? Katz assumed now that the old ones were dead the dog would not be fighting anymore. How many times was he going to be wrong today?

"Stupid dog, you will die if you stay here." The canine did not back down "Do you want to die?"

Silence…

"Courage…?" At once Katz knew the answer.

"Leave me alone." The pink pup let himself fall back onto the bed and with a sigh closed his eyes as if drifting off to sleep. The cat watched him silently thinking of his next move, the dog had always been suborn to a certain extent, but now, now Katz didn't actually know his enemy.

"If you will not leave, then I will stay." With that Katz went downstairs to look for supplies so that he could make the pooch a proper meal, but to his dismay there was little more than dust in the cupboards. There was not a single ounce of food in the house; no doubt the dog did not have money; so no wonder why he was starving.

Making a quick decision Katz left the house to go by groceries, almost regretting it seeing as he hated the people of Nowhere almost as much as Muriel herself. But in the end it was worth it, seeing as he managed to get Courage to almost eat half of what was on his plate.

It was a step in the right direction.

* * *

Courage eyed the cat sleeping next to him on the couch, it had been four months, and still there was no sign of him leaving. But if the cowardly dog had to be honest, he did kind of enjoy the cat's presence despite their rocky past.

Black eyes focused back to the television, but the dogs mind continued to wonder. The vibrant feline was very different then Courage originally imagined. Katz had continued to keep his multiple businesses running from the house which alone was impressive, though Courage did not know if he was still using dirty evil tactics to ruin the competition. But besides running businesses Katz did every household chore possible, and managed to spend time with Courage.

The fact that the red haired cat was sleeping surprised Courage greatly, but he guessed after four months of doing everything even Katz had to be tired. Courage idly wondered when the feline would pack his bags and go back home, though he didn't know if the idea of Katz leaving was a good thing or not, his stomach did knot up at the thought…

Courage jumped when nimble fingers scratched his head, so much like Muriel, but so different at the same time.

"Tired Courage?" The sophisticated cat asked with one eye open, smiling when the dog unconsciously leaned into the touch after the initial surprise.

The pink pup said nothing, not that he needed to. Katz recognized his companion's exhaustion, Courage despite gaining some much needed weight and having company was still getting next to no sleep. How the canine mange to run on so little sleep he did not know, Katz himself was fond of twelve hours of sleep per day. Those cat naps really did add up.

"Come on." The pooch made a noise of protest as the larger animal lifted him up and carried him to the bedroom they had been sharing. The first night Katz had attempted to sleep in the old people's bed Courage had thrown a huge fit, but after a rather long argument, and a bit of sport, Katz won and was allowed to sleep in the bed.

After setting the dog down, Katz made his way to the bathroom to relieve himself one last time, before returning and finding Courage sleeping on Muriel's pillow. Katz supposed he shouldn't have been so surprised, but up until now Courage had only slept at the foot of the bed, while Katz slept on the old mans side.

"Courage," The dog rolled over to look at the cat now lying next to him. "I need to go out of town for a couple of days."

Courage sat up with an alarmed expression on his face.

"Why?"

"Business Courage, I am expanding my candy stores. I need to be there to ensure the opening goes smoothly. You are more than welcome to join me if you want." Katz also joined the pup in a sitting position hoping the dog would see he honestly did desire the dog to accompany him.

After a few minutes of silence, Courage moved back to his previous position and turned so his back was facing Katz ignoring the invitation completely.

"I will be back in two days, three if anything goes wrong." He reassured the pup who opted to say nothing. The feline didn't like being ignored, but none the less also followed Courage and laid down. Neither slept that night.

* * *

Courage roamed the silent house feeling worse then he did when Muriel died, how that was possible he didn't know. Maybe he did miss Katz more than he let on, maybe he really did like the evil feline.

But what did it matter now though? Courage was alone; he had been for over a week. Katz had lied, not really surprising, but it hurt just the same. So what did it matter if he missed the red haired cat, nothing would change the fact he was miserable and Katz still wasn't there to make him feel better.

With a sigh the pink dog flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, but at the sound of someone or thing opening the front door downstairs he quickly sat up. Fear that he hadn't felt since before Muriel and Eustace died bubbled up as his mind raced to place who the intruder might be.

Courage always had a horrible fear that Freaky Fred would return to inherit the house, or Eustace's mother might actually notice her son was dead and come to collect him.

"Courage?" Katz peeked in the room and was frightened momentarily as the dog let out a scream that left his ears ringing.

"Katz!" The dog gasped while trying to get back his breath.

Katz waited till the pooch had caught his breath before laughing at the cowardly dog, which he got a glare for, but none the less laughed till it was nothing more than a light chuckle.

"Sorry I am late." The cat made his way to the bed, and sat down next to the dog that made no attempt to move away. "There were complications; apparently some old competition didn't like my newfound success."

"You haven't been eating." Katz smile fell off his lips as he studied the smaller animal that refused to meet his eyes.

"Courage." The canine reluctantly looked up after being startled by the thin arm that wrapped around him and pulled him into a warm body. "I worry about you when you don't make an effort to live."

"Why?"

"I am sure you know, think about it." The dog sat silently for several minutes, confused by what Katz was saying. But the second recognition hit Courage Katz smiled and pulled the canine closer.

"The things I do for love?"

"The things I do for love." Courage froze when a much smaller nose rubbed against his own and a purr erupted from the larger animal. He had never been intimate with another being, besides his parents, but that was much different from this.

Katz nuzzled the pup one last time before dragging the dog down onto the soft mattress so both of them could get a good nights rest. It pleased the cat to know Courage did not object to his feelings.

It was a big step in the right direction.


End file.
